An anticipated featherweight showdown is beginning to take shape. Josh Grispi will hope to make an impressive showing in his second outing with the UFC as he takes on "The Ultimate Fighter" veteran in George Roop, come this June. Grispi was touted as a huge factor in the featherweight division following his assimilation into the organization after the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion was merged with the UFC. However, he showed little of the talent he displayed in the defunct organization when he was deftly defeated by the unheralded Dustin Poirier upon his octagon debut this past January. He will now have a second-chance to impress. ...

If there was any one fight that would solidify someone for a shot at the title, it would be the kind of performance that Canadian Mark Hominick displayed tonight. Mark was already promised a title shot earlier this month at UFC 125, however a hand injury prevented the talented striker in taking up the opportunity to face the titleholder. Subsequently, UFC President Dana White said that should Mark come out the victor in his bout tonight against teammate George Roop, he would be next in line. Now, after blasting "The Ultimate Fighter" veteran inside of the first-round, he will be having his chance to vie for a UFC championship. ...

George Roop, a veteran of the eighth season of "The Ultimate Fighter", will now be returning to the largest mixed martial arts promotion as he takes on fellow teammate Mark Hominick. Though not a contender in the talent-rich pool of 145-pounds, Roop is exciting none the less. After dropping down to the featherweight division after his brief stint as a lightweight in the UFC, Roop was competitive in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, earning "Fight of the Night" when he battled former title challenger Leonard Garcia. Though a point deduction given to George for a low blow inevitably cost him a win over the "Bad Boy" who went to a split-draw with the Team Tompkins fighter, he followed up the gritty performance with a vicious head-kick knockout over fan favorite Chan Sung Jung, aka "The Korean Zombie". Now following the WEC-UFC merger of the lighter weight classes, Roop finds himself in a vicarious position. He's either going to be the stepping stone that Mark needs in order to secure a title shot against one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, or he's going to cause an upset that will shoot him up the ranks. ...

Mark Hominick will arguably now be gearing up for the biggest fight of his career. Though he's no stranger to the UFC, having fought inside the promotion successfully twice defeating the likes of Yves Edwards and Jorge Gurgel before transitioning to the World Extreme Cagefighting organization, the 28-year-old will need to impress in his next outing if he hopes to regain a coveted title shot in the featherweight division. But first, the Canadian will have to do battle with George Roop if he hopes to tangle with Jose Aldo, the UFC 145-pound champion, in his native Ontario, Canada. ...

As the clock turns ever-closer to 2011, the UFC has several big fights and events lined up to kick off the new year in style. Perhaps one of those most important events is not the New Year’s Day UFC 125 or the Super Bowl Weekend UFC 127, but the second edition of “UFC Fight for the Troops”, a “Fight Night Live” event designed to raise money for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. 11 fights have recently been made official for the card, and while not PPV-caliber, it is star-studded nonetheless. Here are all the details. ...

It’s inevitable that a hot prospect will one day fall from grace. 2010 in particular has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that no MMA star is unbeatable no matter what their past record is or how highly they are touted. Chan Sung Jung, the man known as “The Korean Zombie” due to his uncanny ability to absorb damage and somehow keep moving forward, is simply another of 2010’s many examples. After competing in a sure-fire “Fight of the Year” candidate against Leonard Garcia in his WEC debut, Jung was on the wrong end of a brilliant head-kick KO courtesy of George Roop. And according to the man himself, that KO signaled the death of The Korean Zombie as we know him. Here are all the details. ...

WEC 51 “Aldo vs. Gamburyan” was one for the history books, and now that it’s actually in the history books, I’m left looking towards the future once again. Like all of my previous installments in the “What’s Next” series, I’ll be giving my thoughts on what the future will hold for some of the big winners and losers of “Aldo vs. Gamburyan”. So let’s get right to it. ...

Just like every event, WEC 51 has produced yet again. At the 1st Bank Arena in Broomfield, Colorado, we witnessed Aldo establish his dominance once again, when he was able to easily dispatch the season five finalist of "The Ultimate Fighter", knocking out Manny Gamburyan with a flurry of punches on the ground, after connecting with a vicious uppercut that sent him to the mat. While the Brazilian claimed the knockout victory, it was George Roop's kick-to-head connection against "The Korean Zombie" which eventually garnered the nights "Knockout of the Night" award, and allowed him to pocket an additional ten thousand dollars for his efforts. ...

It's now come and gone, and WEC 51 reads like some crazy, bizarre storybook now that it's all over. A Korean Zombie was defeated, an Angel was reborn, a Mongolian Wolf chewed up the competition, a historic rivalry had its next (and almost certainly not last) chapter written in the blood of a great fighter, and in the main event of the night, the WEC Featherweight Champion once again proved that he is without equal. Here are all the results as well as my thoughts on the unsurprisingly fantastic WEC 51: “Aldo vs. Gamburyan” event. ...

WEC 51 in Broomfield, CO tonight should deliver far more excitement than than the lackluster UFC 119 show this past weekend in Indianpolis.  First off - I simply can't remember a WEC show which didn't bring the funk.  Not exactly sure why the lighter weights seem to offer a more consistent product, but they do.  Is it the speed of the fights, fighter endurance is better, more to prove with a lower pay scale ...? Regardless, WEC 51 lines up to be another stellar card. For obvious reasons, every MMA fan should make time to watch Jose Aldo live every chance possible ... a no-brainer.  He is arguably the best pound for pound fighter on the planet.  However, the real hidden gems on the card are The Korean Zombie and newcomer Nick Pace. ...

Today marks the fifty-first show held by the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion. The card is so stacked that it was once rumored to be the next WEC Pay-Per-View, and it features big-name stars like Jose Aldo, Manvel Gamburyan, Mike Thomas Brown, Leonard Garcia, Miguel Torres, Donald Cerrone, and Jamie Varner. I’ve tried to be as vocal of a supporter of the WEC as I can possibly be in my time with fighters.com, so I can’t wait to see this show. Here are my predictions on all the big matches scheduled for WEC 51: “Aldo vs. Gamburyan”. ...

As wec 51 looms our way tomorrow night, all competitors at the 1st Bank Arena in Broomsfield, Colorado made it to the scale, with no controversy. The main event of the evening, a featherweight match up against two of the best in the class, will feature Jose Aldo putting his belt on the line against season five finalist of "The Ultimate Fighter" Manny Gamburyan, and taking on co-headlining duties will be a grudge match for the ages when former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner steps back into the cage for the second time this year when he faces nemesis and crowd favorite Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, who is coming off of a loss to current champion Ben Henderson in an attempt to vie for the title. ...

While the WEC is recognized as being under the Zuffa umbrella that also is associated with the UFC, which is unarguably the worlds largest leading promotion in the world of mixed martial arts--the WEC does not remain as the red headed stepchild of the group. The "little" big promotion has made many strides in the last few years, improving their fundamentals and becoming a leading competitor to any organization that embodies the lighter weight classes. Currently, of the WEC's bantamweight and featherweight classes, most if not all of the top-10 competitors exist within the promotion. And while the WEC has consistently put together solid shows, time after time--WEC 51 will be no exception. In fact, it may be on their better cards to date. ...

The undercard of UFC 101 in Philadelphia Saturday saw two split decision upsets, one in the middleweight division and one at 170.

"Legionarius" Alessio Sakara (14 -7) upset recent UFC middleweight title challenger Thales Leites (14-3) in a three-round split decision, rendering Leites with consecutive disappointing losses.

And, "Doomsday" John Howard (12-3) won a three-round split decision over "Barn Cat" Tamdan McCrory (11-3), Howard's second SD in the Octagon with no losses.
...

Fighters.com will post real-time results after each UFC 101 Declaration fight Saturday night. Post your predictions here before the fights. Logon often tonight and chat about the fights immediately after they end. The fight card from Philadelphia includes: "Prodigy" B.J. Penn (13-5-1) v "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (11-3) for the UFC lightweight strap Fighters.com's third-ranked light heavyweight Forrest Griffin (16-5) v UFC middleweight champ "“Spider” Anderson Silva (24-4) in 205-pound matchup ...

Shane Nelson (10-3) defeated George Roop (8-2) via split decision during the Ultimate Fighter Season 8 Finale in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

The fight started with punch flurries by both fighters. The fighters clinched and eventually Nelson brought Roop down to the ground. Nelson attempted a rear naked choke but Roop denied the submission. The action slowed tremendously before Roop pulled guard at the end of the round.

The second round began with Roop landing a hard low kick followed by a stuffed takedown. Nelson got a takedown eventually and took side control. Nelson landed some elbows from the side and took the mount. Roop tried to escape the mount as Nelson rained down punches. Finally escaping, Roop got back to his feet only to get caught in a guillotine choke. Roop escaped the sub attempt to land two solid knees before round's end.

The final round opened with Roop landing punches and kicks to the head of Roop. Nelson attmepted takedown but was stuffed by Roop. Roop pushed Nelson into the cage and eventually got a takedown. Falling into Nelson's guard, Roop got back up to his feet and the fighters exchanged leather. The round ended with Nelson slamming Roop to the floor and attmepting a heel hook.

Shane Nelson officially won via split decision. The judges scored the bout; 29-28 Nelson, 29-28 Roop and 29-28 Nelson.

TUF 8 lightweights Phillipe Nover (4-0) and Efrain Escudero (6-0) and light heavyweights “Darth” Ryan Bader (5-0) and “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (3-3) secured a spot in the finals in Wednesday night’s episodes of the reality television series. Following the broadcast the UFC announced the full lineup for the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir 13 December in Las Vegas. Also on the card are a previously reported bout between middleweights “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-10) and Wilson Gouveia (11-5), and a rematch between Kevin Burns (7-1) and “Rumble” Anthony Johnson (5-2). Rounding out the main card is a lightweight match-up between TUF 8 competitors Junie Allen Browning (2-0) and David Kaplan (0-0). ...

By Steve Cha "I like the small guys.  They go at it," UFC President Dana White stated to TUF 8 coach Frank Mir (11-3). Lightweights Wesley Murch (3-2) and John Polakowski (2-1), who, in his words, “loves giving hugs to everyone”, didn’t disappoint White in the first fight of the night on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 8. Both fighters were able to land strikes and take each other’s backs; however, at the end of the first round, British fighter Murch injured his shin on a low kick attempt.  Ouch! Murch braved the pain, but, early in the second round, collapsed; and, the ref was forced to stop the fight. True to his words, Polakowski hugged Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender and TUF 8 coach “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1), White, and Mir, forcing an admission from Nog': " I don’t care, you know.  I like to hug too." ...

Monday the UFC officially announced its line-up for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, premiering 17 September on SpikeTV. The 16 lightweights and 16 light heavyweights will be coached by Fighters.com's top heavyweight contender and interim UFC Champion “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) and former UFC Heavyweight Champ Frank Mir (11-3). Lightweights Jose Aguilar (0-0) Fernando Bernstein (0-0) Junie Allen Browning (1-0) Rolando Delgado (0-0) Joseph Duarte (0-0) Efrain Escudero (10-0) Brandon Garner (4-1) David Kaplan (0-0) Eric Magee (1-1) Brian McLaughlin (0-0) Wesley Murch (3-2) Shane Nelson (9-3) Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) Ido Pariente (8-3) John Polakowski (2-1) George Roop (8-3) Light Heavyweights Ryan Bader (7-0) Antwain Britt (3-1) Jules Bruchez (0-0) Charles Diaz (3-0) Lance Evans (2-2) Karen Grigoryan (6-1) Jason Guida (17-17) "Big Deal" Ryan Jimmo (6-1) Kyle Kingsbury (7-1) Tom Lawlor (4-1) Ryan Lopez (4-4) "Pezao" Vinicius Magalhaes (0-1) Eliot Marshall (5-1) Sean O’Connell (0-0) Shane Primm (1-0) Krzysztof Soszynski (15-8-1) ...